phi YeO3-12 phage tail fiber Gp17 as a promising high specific tool for recognition of Yersinia enterocolitica pathogenic serotype O : 3

Yersiniosis is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by two enteropathogenic species of Gram-negative genus Yersinia: Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Pigs and other wild and domestic animals are reservoirs for these bacteria. Infection is usually spread to humans by ingestion of contaminated food. Yersiniosis is considered a rare disease, but recent studies indicate that it is overlooked in the diagnostic process therefore the infections with this bacterium are not often identified. Reliable diagnosis of Yersiniosis by culturing is difficult due to the slow growth of the bacteria easily overgrown by other more rapidly growing microbes unless selec-tive growth media is used. Phage adhesins recognizing bacteria in a specific manner can be an excellent diagnostic tool, es-pecially in the diagnosis of pathogens difficult for culturing. In this study, it was shown that Gp17, the tail fiber protein (TFP) of phage phi YeO3-12, specifically recognizes only the pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:3 (YeO:3) bacteria. The ELISA test used in this work confirmed the specific interaction of this protein with YeO:3 and demonstrated a promising tool for developing the pathogen recognition method based on phage adhesins.Peer reviewe

The Podovirus phi 80-18 Targets the Pathogenic American Biotype 1B Strains of Yersinia enterocolitica

We report here the complete genome sequence and characterization ofYersiniabacteriophage vB_YenP_phi 80-18. phi 80-18 was isolated in 1991 using aY. enterocoliticaserotype O:8 strain 8081 as a host from a sewage sample in Turku, Finland, and based on its morphological and genomic features is classified as a podovirus. The genome is 42 kb in size and has 325 bp direct terminal repeats characteristic for podoviruses. The genome contains 57 predicted genes, all encoded in the forward strand, of which 29 showed no similarity to any known genes. Phage particle proteome analysis identified altogether 24 phage particle-associated proteins (PPAPs) including those identified as structural proteins such as major capsid, scaffolding and tail component proteins. In addition, also the DNA helicase, DNA ligase, DNA polymerase, 5 '-exonuclease, and the lytic glycosylase proteins were identified as PPAPs, suggesting that they might be injected together with the phage genome into the host cell to facilitate the take-over of the host metabolism. The phage-encoded RNA-polymerase and DNA-primase were not among the PPAPs. Promoter search predicted the presence of four phage and eleven host RNA polymerase -specific promoters in the genome, suggesting that early transcription of the phage is host RNA-polymerase dependent and that the phage RNA polymerase takes over later. The phage tolerates pH values between 2 and 12, and is stable at 50 degrees C but is inactivated at 60 degrees C. It grows slowly with a 50 min latent period and has apparently a low burst size. Electron microscopy revealed that the phage has a head diameter of about 60 nm, and a short tail of 20 nm. Whole-genome phylogenetic analysis confirmed that phi 80-18 belongs to theAutographivirinaesubfamily of thePodoviridaefamily, that it is 93.2% identical toYersiniaphage fHe-Yen3-01. Host range analysis showed that phi 80-18 can infect in addition toY. enterocoliticaserotype O:8 strains also strains of serotypes O:4, O:4,32, O:20 and O:21, the latter ones representing similar toY. enterocoliticaserotype O:8, the American pathogenic biotype 1B strains. In conclusion, the phage phi 80-18 is a promising candidate for the biocontrol of the American biotype 1BY. enterocolitica.Peer reviewe